Thomas J. Castles has been an ostomate for 46 years, having had an xe2x80x9cend colostomyxe2x80x9d procedure.
According to the International Ostomy Association, and ostomy is best defined as xe2x80x9ctype of surgery required when a person has lost the normal function of the bladder or bowel due to birth defects, disease, injury or other disorders. Such operations include colostomy, ileostomy and urostomy. The surgery allows for normal bodily wastes to be expelled through a new surgical opening (stoma) on the abdominal wall. Most persons with ostomies must wear special appliances, named xe2x80x9costomy bagsxe2x80x9d, over the stoma. The ostomy bag retains bodily wastes outside of the body cavity until such time as it can be disposed of properly. An ostomate is a person who has had ostomy surgery. xe2x80x98Related surgeriesxe2x80x99 are surgeries of the bowel or urinary system that correct birth defects, illness or injury while preserving continence.xe2x80x9d
Mr. Castles has done extensive traveling within the United States while vacationing and while serving as a delegate to the American Federation of Musicians. In addition, he has traveled locally as and active performing musician. During these times he has used airliners, cruise ships, trains, motor homes and automobiles, and has been required to maintain his colostomy, which is accomplished by xe2x80x9cflushing outxe2x80x9d the ostomy bag, using water. This requires Water to be inserted into the bag, and then released back into a portable container, waste basin or toilet. In the past, it has been difficult for such a procedure to be completed when the ostomy patient was away from home, where proper facilities were available, primarily due to the fact that evacuating an ostomy bag can be untidy, unsanitary, and cumbersome without some sort of portable, pressurized water delivery system.
Mr. Castles realized the need for ostomy patients to have a portable service device that allows for efficient, sanitary maintenance of the stoma. The xe2x80x9cPortable Ostomy Management Devicexe2x80x9d provides ostomy patients with a device that is small, portable, and battery powered to provide ostomy maintenance anywhere, at any time. Ostomy patients have no ability to control the normal body function and therefore face extreme stress problems servicing their pouch while at work, visiting, traveling or during other intimate moments in life.
To overcome the difficulties of managing an ostomy when away from equipped facilities, it is necessary to have access to a portable, powered supply of pressurized water that can be used to evacuate and clean out the inside of an ostomy bag while still being worn by the patient. This requires a device that provides a refillable fluid reservoir (1), an on-demand pump (6), a portable power supply or battery (9), a water flow valve (15), and a proprietary, angled pressure wand.
Other devices have been produced to aid in the evacuation and cleaning of ostomy bags, such as those disclosed in the following US Patents:
Williams (""404) discloses a colostomy kit, which consists of a small waste receptacle that straps around the waist of the user. The device requires either a plumbing water supply (faucet or spigot), or a water pouch suspended above the user""s head, to deliver water to the device. Further, the device is designed for use while patient is sitting on a toilet. This does not provide the user with the ability to use the device when away from plumbing and/or a toilet. Further, the device does not include any sort of angled water delivery nozzle that would minimize the possibility of coming in contact with waste material, or spillage on the user""s clothing.
Downey (""106) discloses a device for evacuating the contents of an ostomy bag wherein a pair of elongated members is spaced apart; the ostomy bag is inserted between the elongated members, and then pulled through. As the ostomy bag is pulled between the members, the contents are forced out. This method possibly does not completely clear all materials from the ostomy bag, requiring additional rinsing. This possibly exposes the user to contamination from waste contained within the bag. Further, this device does not provide the user with an angled water delivery nozzle, which is likely to expose the user to contact with unsanitary waste, or spillage on the user""s clothing.
Henry (""408) discloses a tool designed to be secured to an ostomy bag so that the bag may be manipulated within a toilet in order to facilitate the evacuation of its contents. This method requires the user to place his or her hands into the toilet with the likely possibility of contamination from both waste within the bag, and from the toilet. Further, this device does not provide the user with an angled water delivery nozzle, which is likely to expose the user to contact with unsanitary waste, or spillage on the user""s clothing. Wellman (""503) discloses a device that allows for a hose to be secured to a sink faucet with the purpose of delivering pressurized water inside an ostomy bag in order to flush out waste. This device, however, supplies no means to flush out an ostomy bag when a sink faucet is not available. Further, without an angled water delivery nozzle, the user can possibly make contact with unsanitary waste, or spillage on the user""s clothing.
Barth (""447) discloses a device that provides irrigation for an ostomy patient by providing a two-chambered fluid delivery system for flushing out the internal waste channel by inserting a connector to the Stoma. Air-pressurized chamber forces water out of the bag, and into the stoma, using a manual hand-pump. This device is designed for flushing waste from the internal waste channel directly, without the use of an ostomy bag. Further, this device requires substantial effort with two hands in order to complete the flushing task. It provides no means for cleaning the interior of an ostomy bag.
Hubbard (""389) discloses a device for evacuating and capturing waste from an ostomy bag using water delivered with a submersible pump that is installed inside of a fluid reservoir. The device also provides a container for capturing waste. This device requires the user to fill the ostomy bag with fluid, than manually agitate the contents, in order to perform cleaning. Further, without an angled water delivery nozzle and pressurized delivery system, the user is required to agitate the bag, which exposes the risk of making contact with unsanitary waste, or spillage on the user""s clothing.
Saunders (""633) discloses a device that provides fixed installation, bedside, or portable use adaptations with the purpose of providing a method for using pressurized water to flush the inside of an ostomy bag. In all three adaptations, the user is required to evacuate waste into a toilet using a specialized component that sits on top of a toilet seat to allow the user to sit and drain the bag contents into a drainage funnel. This device is large, and cumbersome. It is portable (can be moved around within a location), but not transportable (easily taken with a user on trips or vacations). Further, without an angled water delivery nozzle, the user can possibly make contact with unsanitary waste during the bag flushing process, or spillage on the user""s clothing.
Withers (""581) provides an ostomy-cleaning device that requires the user to remove the ostomy bag in order to perform said cleaning. The device is designed to be permanently installed near a basin or toilet, and is not transportable or portable. Further, continuously removing and reapplying a new ostomy bag to the stoma can result in irritation to the skin, pain, and discomfort.
Ostomy patients are faced with a dilemma if cleaning is required when the patient is away from home, has no access to bathroom facilities, or is concerned with contaminating the bathroom at the dwelling of another person or at a business. To overcome these objections, the user needs an easy-to-use, pressurized water delivery system that will allow the user to flush an ostomy bag without exposing his or her hands to evacuated waste that will pour out of the bottom of a bottom-opening ostomy bag. To achieve this, water needs to be delivered with an angled pressure wand (16) in order to keep the hands out of the path of evacuated waste.
It is the primary objective of this device to provide a unique delivery component for delivering pressurized water into an ostomy bag to utilize pressure to evacuate waste in a way that prevents users from coming in contact with waste, and keeping waste from spilling or splashing onto the user""s clothing by eliminating the need for manual agitation of the bag. This is achieved by providing a water flow valve (15) that has an attached angled pressure wand (16) that has an approximately 30-degree bend. This allows a user to insert the angled pressure wand (16) into the ostomy bag, and then start a pressurized flow of water by activating the water flow valve (15) in order to rinse the bag while the user""s hands are out of the evacuation path.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a device that can be used at or away from home by providing a rechargeable battery and/or AC adapter to power an on-demand pump. This is accomplished by providing a commercially available 12-volt battery, AC Charger, DC Charger, and AC Adapter to allow the device to be powered by an internal battery which can be charged with an AC or DC charger.
Another objective of this device is to provide a method for flushing an ostomy bag without having to utilize both hands to manipulate such a device. This is achieved by using the unique angled pressure want (16) and water flow valve (15).
Another objective is to provide a device that can be used with toilets, basins, or any readily available portable container, allowing a user to conduct bag cleaning at any time or place. This device provides the user with such flexibility.
Another objective is to provide a device that is installed in discreet carrying packages such as brief cases, backpacks, purses, and other everyday carrying devices. This is achieved by providing constructing the device with small components that can be discreetly installed in such carrying devices.
The xe2x80x9cPortable Ostomy Management Devicexe2x80x9d is a portable, self-contained, ostomy bag cleaning device designed to deliver pressurized water into an into an ostomy bag (20), while being worn by an ostomy patient, in order to loosen and complete the evacuation of the waste therein, into a disposal container of the user""s choosingxe2x80x94including home toilets, portable toilets, portable containers, or other containment vessels. This portable ostomy management device includes a fluid reservoir (1), fill stem (2), and fill cap (3) for storing clean water used for washing out the ostomy bag (20). An on-demand pump (6) that draws water from the fluid reservoir (1) supply stem (4) through a short segment of flexible hose (5) whenever the water flow valve (15) is engaged by the user. The pump (6) delivers water into a long flexible hose (7) that carries the water from the pump (6) to the water flow valve (15). When engaged, the water flow valve (15) delivers water into the pressure wand (16), which forces the water out of the device through a pressure nozzle (17). The pressurized water then loosens any trapped waste within the ostomy bag (20), and allows it to drain out of the bottom of the ostomy bag (20) and into a disposal container, toilet, or other containment vessel. An override switch (8) is provided in case the pump (6) built-in xe2x80x9con-demandxe2x80x9d capability fails to stop the pump""s (6) operations. A re-chargeable, portable battery pack (9) is provided to power the pump (6). A battery-charging unit (10) is provided to stabilize DC current provided to charge the battery. An AC to DC charging component (11), terminated with an acceptable connector plug (13), can be used to plug into the battery charging unit (10) from an AC power source, to perform battery charging. A DC charging component for automobile cigarette lighter plugs (12), terminated with an acceptable connector plug (13), can be used to plug into the battery charging unit (10) from a DC power source, to perform battery charging. A discreet, rigid carrying case structure (18) such as a briefcase, or a non-rigid carrying case such as a nylon backpack or carry bag, are used to house all of the components of the portable ostomy management device.